2008

• Council Chair Jack Shonkoff was featured in multiple articles after his participation in the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Articles in ScienceNOW ("Poverty and the Brain: When It's Right to be Wrong," February 15, 2008), the Financial Times ("Poverty mars formation of infant brains," February 16, 2008), and the New York Times ("Poverty Is Poison," February 18, 2008) highlight neuroscience research on the detrimental cognitive effects of toxic stress as a result of poverty, as well as intervention programs. As reported in the Financial Times, Dr. Shonkoff said that this research is important because "the foundation of all social problems later in life takes place in the early years."

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• Council research that was presented at the Maine Governor’s Economic Summit on Early Childhood was featured in “Investing in workforce should begin early: The first three years of life account for 85 percent of brain development, and need our attention” in The Portland Press Herald (January 29, 2008). The article states: “Studies show that young children who experience high-quality early care and education are more likely to have good physical/emotional/mental health; have higher self esteem; have greater speech and language skills; succeed academically and attend college; have higher earnings as adults; own their own homes; and contribute to Maine’s tax base.”

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• Council Chair Jack Shonkoff was featured in an article, "Pediatrician: Life’s Tracks Set By Age 3," in The Hartford Courant (January 16, 2008). The article describes the Connecticut Governor’s Early Childhood Summit and highlights Dr. Shonkoff’s keynote speech. “Things are happening early on in the lives of young children that are either going to set a strong foundation for high economic achievement and high economic productivity…or can build a foundation that’s going to be the beginning of failure, of school failure and economic dependence and criminal behavior,” said Shonkoff. The News-Time also published an article, "Stress on babies may cause brain damage: Study spurs state to seek support for at risk children" (January 20, 2008), about Dr. Shonkoff’s keynote. “Everybody needs the same thing, good relationships and a quality learning experience,” said Shonkoff.

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• Council Contributing Member Art Rolnick was featured in Twin Cities Business magazine (January 2008) in an article entitled "Saving the Future: Business leaders are lining up to support a plan that promises a bigger, brighter work force by focusing on early child development, particularly for at-risk youngsters." The article describes Rolnick’s leadership of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation’s (MELF) research to identify the most cost-efficient way of assuring kindergarten readiness for children from low-income families, as well as the upcoming Spring 2008 pilot of MELF’s scholarship program for 1,200 at-risk children.

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• Council Member Charles Nelson was interviewed in "A Spectrum of Disorders: The urgent search to understand the biological basis of autism" in Harvard Magazine (January-February 2008). In a detailed look at the history of autism diagnoses, as well as the changing medical and social perceptions of autism, Nelson’s research in developmental neuroscience and early brain plasticity provides a basis for the field to begin to understand cognitive deficits involved in autism during infancy, though there are still many questions to be answered. “Because a child’s behavioral repertoire is limited in the first years of life, it can be difficult to tell whether an apparent language delay is developmental or something more significant, like autism,” Nelson explains. “But I like to say, ‘The brain doesn’t lie.’”

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2006-2007